Samsung poised to forge even closer ties with BlackBerry

Samsung has hinted at further enterprise partnerships with BlackBerry as the South Korean electronics giant looks to strengthen the appeal of its devices and services to businesses.

The comments, made to CNBC by the head of Samsung's European enterprise unit on Monday, come just months after it shot down speculation that it was going to buy BlackBerry.

"I think you'll continue to see a rich roadmap with BlackBerry as we move forward," Lee Epting told CNBC at tech fair CeBit.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Curved UHD televisions are displayed at the Samsung booth at the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Since the takeover rumors died down, Samsung has been forging closer links with BlackBerry as the South Korean firm looks to take control in the enterprise market, and the Canadian device maker continues to switch its focus on to software and services.

BlackBerry announced this month that it was integrating two of its enterprise services – WorkLife and SecuSUITE – with Samsung's enterprise security software KNOX. WorkLife allows users to keep sensitive corporate information safe and separate from personal activities on a device. SecuSUITE is an anti-eavesdropping software.

By partnering with Samsung, BlackBerry can get its software into the phones of the world's largest device maker by shipments, while Samsung can market its smartphones as the best for business.

Samsung announced at CeBit on Monday that it was unifying all of its enterprise products such as KNOX and its printing unit under one brand called Samsung Business.

Epting said Samsung's ongoing expansion in the enterprise space will is not putting it in competition with BlackBerry.

"We have engaged with them ensuring we and they can support themselves. In that regard it's purely a partnership," Epting said.